This invention relates generally to the field of cataract surgery, specifically to a chopper apparatus used in the cataract surgery.
In current modern day cataract surgery, a significant amount of energy is introduced into the eye to remove the cataract. This energy causes direct damage and collateral damage to the eye (killing the fragile non-reproducing endothelial cells of the cornea). The energy triggers an inflammatory response that is damaging to the fragile endothelial cells, causes pain, longer recovery time and cystoid macular edema (CME) (among other things). The main sources of energy entering the eye and causing damage during cataract surgery are from ultrasound and femtosecond laser used during the procedure to break apart or emulsify the cataract. An instrument referred to as a “chopper” is used in conjunction with ultrasound or laser energy. For example, a femtosecond laser can be used for phacofragmentation of the cataract and/or ultrasound can be applied with a phacoemulsification tip or probe (called a “phaco probe” or “phaco tip,” or alternatively a “vacuum tip”) that vibrates at ultrasonic frequency to emulsify the cataract while a pump aspirates particles of the cataract through the tip. The chopper is used with the laser or ultrasound energy to assist with chopping or breaking the cataract into fairly small pieces that can be extracted from the eye using the pump or vacuum of the phaco tip. However, since these procedures all require the use of laser or ultrasound, there is no way to avoid damage to the eye and the inflammatory response described above.